ADAC survey: Mobility change easier in everyday life than on vacation - Government must set the course

The significance of different modes of transportation changes depending on the context in which people are traveling. This is shown by a recent ADAC survey focusing on mobility habits in daily life, leisure, and vacations. The car is the most used mode of transportation across all areas, although its importance decreases by 24 percent during vacations. Unsurprisingly, the airplane has high relevance in vacation mobility, but the train also experiences an increase and is used 14 percent more often on vacation than in everyday life.

The survey also reveals: The willingness to change mobility behavior is significantly more pronounced in everyday life than during vacations for many people. Nevertheless, even on vacation, the majority are willing to adapt their mobility behavior in some way - most likely by using the train more. Against the backdrop of this lesser willingness to change during vacations, the shift in propulsion systems gains importance. This does not only concern the car but is also relevant for airplanes, which are crucial for vacation mobility.

Hard factors decisive for choosing transport mode

Moreover, it becomes evident that people make their mobility decisions mainly based on "hard" factors, which are responsible for ensuring a smooth journey. Key factors for them include reliability, availability, independence, and flexibility. Emotional factors such as habit or fun are considerably less important. This underscores that substantial improvements on the supply side would be necessary to promote a change in transportation modes - for instance, toward trains where they can be an alternative to cars and airplanes.

When asked which measure is primarily necessary to achieve climate goals in transportation, 45 percent of respondents opt for a change in propulsion - that is, a switch to e-mobility or alternative fuels. In contrast, 31 percent consider the shift to lower-CO2 transportation modes as the most crucial lever. Particularly young adults and people from large cities view the propulsion shift and the move to low-CO2 transportation modes as nearly equally relevant.

The state is responsible for setting the course for green mobility

When asked who is responsible for setting the course for climate- and environmentally-friendly mobility, most respondents cite the state. In second place - but by a considerable margin - is the civic responsibility for one's own behavior, with this being significantly more pronounced among older respondents than among young adults. The latter see higher responsibility on the entrepreneurial side.